These experienced candidates are the best choices for Roseville City school board

Over the last two years, the school boards of Roseville Joint Union High School District and Rocklin Unified School District made headlines for defying state COVID mandates and wading into political discussions related to ethnic studies, pushing anti-vaccination and anti-mask agendas and letting public meetings devolve into chaos.

Roseville City School District, however, has largely focused on the work of educating children. Speaking with Alisa Fong and Rob Baquera, two board members running for reelection, it becomes evident why: Roseville City’s school board has based its decisions on existing policy and prevailing parent and student opinion, not politics.

Just weeks before the state lifted the classroom mask mandate, Roseville City’s school board, like nearby boards, did decide to break from state law by making masking optional. But whereas Roseville Joint and Rocklin Unified seemed eager to defy Gov. Gavin Newsom, Roseville City’s decision was more nuanced. Baquera said hundreds of students throughout the district were walking out of school every day in protest of the mask mandate before the board decided to end the requirement back in February.

“We knew, from every indication we had, that the state was going to pull back their masking requirements,” Baquera said. “(But) what can we do today to keep our kids in school? We need to keep our kids in class where they’re going to learn the best. That was my reasoning for saying, ‘This is the right move.’ ”

Fong and Baquera are reliable public servants who have done their best to lead their district during a tumultuous couple of years.

Fong, an attorney and property manager, was first elected to the Roseville City School Board in 2016 and reelected in 2018. Outside the school board, she serves as an elected delegate of the California School Boards Association.

Baquera is a self-described “product of Roseville” whose family roots in the city can be traced back to 1914. He began working for the city at 16 and currently manages public affairs for the Roseville Police Department. He’s also the vice president of the Roseville Public Safety Foundation.

Joining the two incumbents in the contest for three seats on the Roseville City School Board are longtime educator and current William Jessup University faculty member Kent Meyer; retired government analyst Rene Aguilera, who has served a combined 14 years on Roseville school boards; and accountant and finance manager Jonathan Zachreson.

Zachreson runs the group Reopen California Schools, which opposes masks and vaccine requirements in schools. He declined to participate in an interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board.

Meyer has an extensive career as an educator and is knowledgeable about student needs, teacher retention and college preparation.

But Aguilera’s resume sets him apart. His prior service on school boards gives him a level of knowledge and experience in the position that the other challengers lack.

“Investing in youth, public service workers and the community is essential,” Aguilera said. “It is my top priority to ensure that every student is educated in the best capacity based on their individual needs, understanding that providing support to our school employees is the foundation for student success.”

Electing Aguilera and reelecting Baquera and Fong to the Roseville City School Board would ensure that the district’s leaders continue to have the best interests of students and their families at heart.

This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 6:00 AM.